This new disclosure is an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,427 and US patent applications by Aharoni et al and US patent applications 2005005602, 200509691 and 20050154457 by Aharoni et al and U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,751 by Samiy et al. The current invention is different than U.S. Pat. No. 7,001,427 and US Patent applications 2005005602, 200509691 and 20050154457 since the above-mentioned patent and applications describe an implant that is always sealed within a capsule and is always located inside the bag of the natural lens and in the visual axis of light going into the eye. The apparatus described in the current invention may be located in other parts of the eye such as anterior chamber, inside the cornea or partly inside and partly outside the eye. Furthermore, it may include no sealed capsule or more than one sealed capsule, only part of the apparatus may be sealed and the sealed element may be located not in the visual axis. The apparatus in the current invention may also consist of more than one implant in more than one location in the eye, where each implant contains at least one electronic component.
The current invention also discloses the possibility to coat, not seal, at least some of the components using a biomaterial for safety reasons. Unlike the above patent and applications, the current invention does not necessarily require focusing optics as part of the implant and it allows the use of at least one electronic component external to the body as part of the apparatus. The current invention also allows for modifications and manipulations of the artificial image that is created on the retina, making it different than the natural image that is describes. Differences in illumination, colors, focus, contrast and magnification can be used to improve the patient's vision.
Further to the above, the current invention is also different than U.S. Pat. No. 5,653,751 by Samiy et al. That patent targets patients that have an opaque cornea. The image is captured external to the eye and then processed and transmitted into the eye using electronic means. Also, the above-mentioned patent discloses an apparatus, which is not implanted inside the eye and only a focusing element may be implanted. The current invention discloses a system where the image is first captured on an element that is located inside the eye. The current invention discloses an apparatus that is adapted to assist patients with retinal diseases and not corneal diseases as in the above patent. The current invention discloses an apparatus, which is implanted, comprising one or more implants, possibly with one or more electronic components placed outside the body. There are several existing patents and patent applications describing intracorneal implants. For examples see U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,691 (Feingold et al), U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,453 (Klima et al), U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,113 (Kaufman), U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,141 (Lindstrom), U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,141 (Monteil et al), U.S. Pat. No. 5,201,762 (Hauber), U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,921 (Werblin et al), U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,003 (Lindstrom), U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,931 (Lindstrom) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,159 (peyman). The current invention is different than all of these patents since it describes an intracorneal implant comprising either a reflective surface or at least one Component as part of an apparatus. None of these are mentioned in the above patents. There are several existing patents and patent applications describing anterior chamber implants. For example see U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,762 (Grendahl), U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,374 (Anis), U.S. Pat. No. 4,560,383 (Leiske), U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,547 (Konstantinov et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,864 (Akhavi). These patents deal with lenses that are implanted during cataract and refractive surgery, where the optical power is located in the optical path having a dioptric power. Entering light is refracted by those implants and passes through the pupil onto the retina. In the current invention the anterior chamber implant does not act as a simple refractive lens and not as an optical element in the center. It contains reflective surfaces and/or electronic elements. That light is reflected or reprocessed using other elements and only then an image is created onto the retina. U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,761 (Portnoy), U.S. Pat. No. 6,902,577 (Lipshitz et al), U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,399 (Lipshitz), U.S. Pat. No. 7,008,448 (Lipshitz et al) and PCT WO 2007/113832 A2 (Lipshitz et al) all disclose implants into the eye with reflective surfaces that are adapted to create a modified image on the retina, but they do not disclose an anterior chamber implant or an intracorneal implant that reflects light towards an external or contact lens.